U.S. Pat. No. 6,067,190 discloses a binocular wherein the electronics are mounted in the binocular itself. The disadvantage here is the considerable amount of space needed especially for accommodating display, operator-controlled unit and storage cards. For this reason, the conventional design of a binocular with the movable folding bridge as well as a weight-optimized and space-optimized configuration cannot be maintained.
United States patent publication 2004/0095471 A1 discloses a binocular having a unit for outcoupling a component light beam. A module having an image sensor for converting images into digital data is so mounted on a housing of a tube that an outcoupling of an optical signal on the image sensor is possible. In addition, a completely autarkic digital camera is disclosed which is connected to the module mounted on the binocular. In order to be able to transmit sensor data from the binocular to the camera, such a camera additionally is provided with corresponding specific communication interfaces. Furthermore, the camera can be correspondingly modified for the purpose of the remote control of a sensor (specific transmission protocol for sensor data and control commands). The image recording is triggered from the camera while, at the same time, the binocular is held in the aligned position. The simultaneous operator control of two apparatus can lead to blurred images with an unsure user.
The entire content of United States patent publication 2004/0095471 A1 is incorporated herein by reference.